Never Ending Wonderland
by Onion Bay
Summary: What happens when Alice decides to go back home?  Ok I don't really know much about the whole truth so the story will be different than the original.  But just in case, SPOILER WARNING!
1. Chapter 1

**Starting a new story! Um so it's kind of spoilers and tells when Alice decides to go back home… I don't really know the aftermath of Alice in original so this might be different from the game. Just to inform, the first setting is in Joker no kuni no Alice! xD**

Suddenly the time stopped ticking in the fanatical Wonderland. Alice looked at her co-workers as she was just about to finish her job in the restaurant, "Huh? What happened? Why is everyone not moving?" She went up towards one of the customers and waved her hands in front of their face.

"You actually know the reason right, Alice." Suddenly her surroundings turned into a dream world, just a vacant dark space.

Alice turned towards the familiar gentle voice, "Nightmare…"

"It's time for you to make a choice, do you want to stay or leave?" Nightmare approached Alice and gently touched her cheeks to make her look at him.

"I…" Alice suddenly realized that she was holding her already filled vial. She has already chosen to stay at this crazy Wonderland for two times now, but she always felt regret seeping inside her. It was true, that her friends were important to her and she grew accustomed to her new home.

"You can't choose which one to decide. Alice you know that where you are right now is the best choice you have. You don't have to feel sorrow, pain and forget everything of the cruel reality you have to face."

Alice couldn't understand what Nightmare was referring to. _Forget? Pain? What are you talking about, Nightmare?_

"Alice, there are many things people don't want to see or hear. To forget things are the best way to ease the pain that you already have experienced."

"But Nightmare, what if I want to go? Maybe my heart is telling me to go to my sister and face reality." _Yes, I have the feeling that there is some sort of responsibility I have to face with. _

Nightmare slowly turned his gentle smile in to a sad one and turned his body away from Alice's. "If you want to go, that is your decision. I will not stop you and neither can anyone bother you." Still not looking at Alice, Nightmare slowly raised his arm and pointed his hand towards the light. "That is the exit. Good bye Alice."

Alice turned to walk towards the light and stopped. Making her mind as blank as possible, she ran up and hugged Nightmare, giving him a scare, "Thank you Nightmare, you and everyone in the Wonderland were my best friends." With this last word she let go of Nightmare and entered the exit. Nightmare finally turned around with his soaked face and let out his most unmanly voice, "Alice, I-I love you!"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Alice felt like she was floating up towards the surface. She felt like a bird, finally free of the chains she was weighed. _How ironic, I nearly thought I was going to die when I fell through a hole. I surely thought the way back is not pleasant either._ She laughed lightly as she finally felt like she hit the surface.

She felt reality come back to her. She felt something soft underneath her and felt the light cloth enveloping her. She could smell bitter medicines in the air and noises that sounded like people talking. Alice finally lifted her heavy eye lids and struggled to get up from her bed, "W-where am I?"

From Alice's sudden awakening, her sister, Edith jumped to her, "Alice you are finally awake!"

Still groggy from her slumber Alice looked at her sister in both joy and confusion, "Edith?"

Two men approached beside Alice's bed and one of the men was crying, "Alice, thank God you have awoken from your endless dream."

Alice was surprised at her father's reaction. After his wife's death, Mr. Liddell became a cold hearted man who only cared about work. Comparing the image Alice had of her father made her chuckle, "Father you don't have to cry so hard! I am awake now."

Alice looked at the other man who approached to her and gasped, "Blood!"

"What! Alice you see blood? Where? Are you hurt?" The man panicked at Alice's statement and frantically came beside her.

Realizing that the man in front of her is not the same man as the one in Wonderland, Alice explained to the confused man, "Huh? O-oh no I was just daydreaming…Alex. Spouting nonsense is just one of my habits. Hahaha…"

Alex, who looked a lot like Blood, nodded his head and replied, "Oh God, Alice it's so great to see you after so long. I have always been guilty about our relationship…"

"Never mind about that, Alice I am so glad you are ok!" Sobbing Edith nuzzled her face into Alice's patient clothes.

Alice smiled at her sister and froze at a sudden query, "Hey father, where is Lorina?"

Her father looked at Alice, shocked and looked at the nurse who was standing in the corner of the room and soon turning back his head to give out a sigh, "You know Alice… I knew that we all sometimes have to face the truth, but… well… your elder sister is not here anymore."

Alice trembled in fear; she felt a looming peril, as she asked, "Hahaha….so Lorina is in another place right now? Where is that? I want to go meet her soon…" All of the people around her just looked down and had a sad face. Her fear had come true. Lorina is dead. Tears started trickling down her pale cheeks and splashed on the cloth that was covering her. Alex made a move, but Edith stood in his way and glared at him. _Was this the pain that Nightmare was referring to? It's so painful and unbearable! Lorina! _Suddenly someone entered the room. Alice didn't even look up to see who it was until she heard a familiar voice.

"How is she doing?"

**I read Seraphic Melody's one-shot and learned a lot from that story. Uh, so Alex is the guy that looks like Blood, either I don't know or Alice never mentioned his name so I just made up a name. == **


	2. Chapter 2

**Finally able to update! Just too much stories I wanna write, but don't have the time to D:**

"Alice, this is your doctor. Please be nice to him and do whatever he says."

Alice looked up to her doctor and widened her eyes in shock, "Julius!"

"It is Dr. Monrey, Alice don't be so rude to him. Wait, how do you know his name?"

Dr. Monrey took out his tools and went closer to Alice to take a look, "You might have had some psychological factors to mix up dream from reality. There are also other matters to deal with, but it should be fine for now."

Alice kept on staring at her impassive looking doctor until Edith once again hugged her, "Alice oneesama! Please come back to our home. I have been eager to show you my newest painting to you!"

"Edith! Dr. Monrey has not released Alice yet. Please refrain yourself from interrupting." Edith just stuck her tongue at her father and hugged Alice tighter. Alice smiled at Edith, she reminded of those mischievous twins.

Dr. Monrey just looked away from the two sisters and walked towards the door, "Due to her long term slumber, her muscles have turned weak and must take rehabilitation. It may take two weeks to recover." Saying this, the doctor turned the door knob and exited the hospital room.

Edith gave a stink eye at the doctor as she stated, "I don't really like that doctor."

Her father sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Edith, please don't say something rude like that."

"But father, he is so mean! He never replies to my conversation and always looks away in disgust. He even threw me out when he was examining the sleeping oneesama."

"I agree that the doctor is a little antisocial, but nevertheless you should not be so disrespectful to him. In addition, the reason why he is so unsociable to you is because you are always bothering him in his busiest time."

Edith pouted as Alice chuckled and petted her sister's head, "So how long was I asleep?"

"You were asleep for about a year."

Alice froze in shock, "…What?"

"You can look for yourself." Alex handed a mirror to her as she looked at herself in awe.

She looked just like her elder sister, Lorina, just a little younger though. Looking at herself made her remember Lorina again and made an attempt to stand up, "Where is Lorina neesan's grave? I need to meet her…"

Alice's attempts failed as she lost balance, Alex caught her in his arms as he worriedly looked at Alice, "Alice, you shouldn't move around too much. Like the doctor said, you need rehabilitation."

Alice sat back down on her bed as she sighed, "Yeah I guess so. I want to start it now."

Alex smiled at Alice, "You just woke up, why not start tomorrow?"

Alice then felt a jolt of tiredness as she lay back, "Mm maybe, I'm a little tired."

Edith barged between Alice and Alex as she kissed Alice's cheek, "Alice oneesama please get well soon and we can go pick some flowers by the garden again."

Alice waved at her visitors as they all exited out of her hospital room. Alice closed her eyes as she fell into a deep sleep.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Alice opened her eyes as she felt warm rays of light on her cheek. She woke up and saw her nurse smiling down at her, "Good morning Ms. Liddel, would you like your breakfast?"

Alice didn't feel much hungry with the odor of the medication, but still took the yogurt to give her some nutrition. The nurse went out the door, "I will call Mr. Monrey for your rehab."

Alice just nodded her head in reply and waited a few more minutes until Dr. Monrey entered the room, "Good morning Ms. Liddel."

Alice gave the young doctor a crooked smile, "Good morning Julius." It was ironic to see Julius in reality when Alice already decided to leave Wonderland. Dr. Monrey raised an eyebrow at the use of his first name, but just ignored it. He brought out white roses to Alice as he gave them to her. Alice just blinked in surprise, "I didn't know that Julius was the type to give flowers to a girl."

Julius blushed and mumbled, "This isn't from me; it was in front of your room." Alice took the white roses from him and adored it's beauty. Julius snorted, "It must be somebody's prank, to bring white flowers to a patient's room is just bad omen."

Alice continued marveling at the rose, "But it's still beautiful…"

Julius changed the topic as he took out his tools and folder, "Now let's start the rehab."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

It has been two weeks since then and Alice could now walk around freely. Alice was released from the hospital and went back to her home, only going to the check up weekly. White roses were sent to the house now. Edith complained that the roses were creepy, but Alice thought differently. Yes, she thought it was a form of stalking, but she couldn't feel any ill intentions coming from the delicate roses. The white on the petals were pure white as if it erased any guilt or hatred in one's heart.

Alice fiddled with the white roses and listened to Edith talking about their cat, Dina. Mr. Liddell approached to his daughters, "Alice." Alice looked at her father and Mr. Liddell coughed a few times before speaking, "Alex has said that you were a very good student of his and he thought maybe you should go attend a school."

Alice widened her eyes as Edith got up from her chair in anger, "Father, I have told you many times before, you should not listen to that playboy."

Mr. Liddell sternly looked at Edith, "Edith, do not talk ill about your tutor. He is a highly intelligent man."

"Well I certainly refuse about oneesama going to school. They only have cheeky, mean brats out there. It wouldn't fit oneesama."

Mr. Liddell whispered to Alice, "I think she is talking about herself."

"I heard that!" Edith angrily looked at her father as Alice chuckled.

"That sounds like fun, father. I want to try going to school."

"But sister~!"

"I'm sorry Edith, but this is a rare chance for me to socially meet people." Alice apologetically looked at Edith.

Edith changed her mood once more, "Fine, I will go with her."

Mr. Liddell sighed, "Edith, you are not old enough to go to school yet."

"But that's not fair!"

"Life is not fair." Edith sat back to her seat grumbling.

Alice smiled at her adorably childish sister as she talked to her father, "So father, which school am I going to?"

"Oh yes, I have actually decided already and arranged ahead of time. It is a highly prestigious school for middle-high and high class people, Marchen Girl's Academy. They have dorms and are located near the hospital. So if you like, you can stay at the dorm and even walk to weekly checkups from there." Mr. Liddell excitedly took out school information forms and handed to Alice.

Alice sat there sinking in the information as Edith protested once more, "That means oneesama won't have time to come back home! Father, are you trying to kick oneesama out?"

"I am just giving Alice an opportunity to learn about society. As a future heir of the Liddell Company, Alice would need to know how to socialize with various people."

Alice looked at the paper for the school and looked at her father, "I think I will attend."

"Oneesama! Why?"

"It's not like I cannot see you forever. I can go back home during the weekends and holidays. Plus I think I want to have some change of minds…."

"…Oneesama…." Edith knew that her sister was not very happy in the mansion. Every time she goes to the garden with Alice, she notices her elder sister looking depressed.

Mr. Liddell rested his hand on Edith's shoulder as he shook his head, "Edith, you should know, it is for Alice's own good."

Edith just sat there with a gloomy expression as Alice cheered, "It's ok, the school is not very far from here, maybe you can visit me sometimes."

Edith's face lit up, "Really!"

With a deadpanned face, her father replied quickly, "That is not going to happen."

"Father~"

**Alice is going to all girls' school. Wala~ what's gonna happen next~. :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't know what era Alice was living in, but let's just say the setting is in the mid or the late 1800s. **

The car stopped in front of the austere gate of the Marchen Girl's Academy. Alice got out from the vehicle and greeted the sisters who were waiting for her, "Good day, Sister, I am Alice Liddel."

The sisters nodded their head as they approached to Alice, "Good day, Ms. Liddel. I am Sr. Margaret and this is Sr. Irene. We have been expecting you, please come inside."

Alice just stared at the grandeur building in awe. The school was almost like a castle with church's and garden.

Alice went back to the car and smiled at Alex, "Thanks for driving me to school."

Alex smiled "No problem Alice. Have a nice time in school. See you later."

Alice waved at Alex as the sisters shut and locked the gate door. They lead Alice to the principal's office while they explained the areas of the school to the new student. The principle was an old sister with a kind, genuine face. She greeted Alice with a warm gesture, "Greetings Ms. Liddel, I am the school principal, Sr. Mary Lou." Her smile relaxed Alice's nervous tension and greeted the principal with utmost respect.

"I hope you didn't feel uncomfortable with the sudden change of environment."

"Oh no sister, this is far from being uncomfortable. I have experienced more than a sudden change of environment."

"Is that so? Well I hope you will feel this school as your home. I have already assigned you to your new room partner, please come in Ms. Rosefield." The principal made a gentle gesture as she raised her hand towards the door next to her. With grace, Alice's room partner appeared. She curtsied to Alice and smiled, "Good day, Ms. Liddel, my name is Vivaldi Rosefield, a senior in this school. I surmise that my brother, Alex was in your care."

Alice blinked once and smiled at Vivaldi, "It was more like I was in his care." _The last time was Julius now it's Vivaldi? Maybe I can get to see all the role holders over time._

Vivaldi gave an equally surprised face, but soon regained her composure, "Is that so? Well then please follow me and I can show you our room." Alice was lead to a fairly large room with red wallpapers all around it. Vivaldi turned to Alice, "I love the color red. It is my most favorite color. I hope you don't mind."

"No, I had a sort of inkling that you would love this color."

"How so?"

"Just by the appearance I know." Alice dropped her luggage on the bed while Vivaldi contemplated for a moment. Alice soon noticed that there were a bunch of girls crowding around the entrance of the door. Alice walked over to the girls, "Good day, I am Alice Liddel, a new student here. Nice to meet you."

" Good day, Ms. Liddel. I am sorry to bother you. We were just curious of what kind of person the queen's room partner was going to be."

"Queen?"

"As you can see, Ms. Rosefield is a very graceful and elegant lady. She is also from the lineage of the royal family of England. Such perfect person should be surrounded with high quality value is what we think. This might be rude for you, but from now on we will be checking on your manners and etiquette."

Before Alice could reply, Vivaldi clapped her hands in attention, "Ms. Liddel and I are extremely tired; if you girls would please let us rest that would be most gratifying."

"Of course, our queen." The girls straightened there posture and curtsied to Vivaldi as they left the room. After a few moments of silence, Vivaldi crashed into her bed, "What a boring day it was."

"You should take a rest if you are tired, Vivaldi." Alice sat in her bed as she smiled at the close resemblance of Vivaldi Rosefield and the queen of hearts.

Vivaldi just gazed at Alice, "Hm it has been long since anyone called me by my first name."

"Oh sorry, Ms. Rosefield. How rude of me to speak like that." _I accidently called by her first name. It's starting to become a habit of comparing the earth land people from the Wonderland residents._

"No it's all right. Actually I rather like to be called by my first name than my last. Can I call you Alice?"

"Of course."

Vivaldi lay over to Alice's side as she stared closely at Alice, "Vivaldi?"

"It was surely a boring day, but Alice, you made my day a little more enjoyable."

"Is that so? I am glad to hear that." The two girls laughed merrily as they chatted about their hobbies and opinion.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Alex parked his car in front of the grand gate of yet another school building. He was greeted by his classmate, Elliot March, "How did it go, Boss?"

Alex undone his necktie and wore his odd looking hat as they went inside the gate, "It went rather smoothly, I don't know what Nightmare Godschalk is thinking about bringing that girl over to Marchen Girl's Academy though."

"Should I investigate more about the girl?"

Alex stopped half way to the building and smiled in an intriguing way, "No, let us wait and see how the events will turn for now, and Elliot, please refrain from calling me boss. I don't want anybody to suspect about us."

Elliot smiled slightly as he bowed to Alex, "As you wish sir."

**I hope the whole girl's school image was in the right idea. I'm in a girl's school, but it's not this extreme.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Night asked me a question about Alex and I was debating whether I should answer that question in this chapter or not and decided I would answer it later on. Don't worry I will eventually unveil all the secrets ;)**

"Alice." Vivaldi gave a quick, gentle nudge for Alice to wake up. "Alice, its morning already. You should prepare to go to school."

Alice's eyes popped open as she woke up, "Am I late?"

"No, just in time."

"That's good… I really don't want to be late on my first day of school…"

"Well it is in the middle of the second semester and anyways you should probably hurry up and change before you really become late."

"You're right I should change, thanks Vivaldi."

"No problem. Say Alice? You're really cute with your pajama."

"Ah… thanks… Vivaldi…" Alice could not help, but get flustered by the odd compliment Vivaldi stated. Even after she was in Wonderland, Alice could not fully escape from the enchanting beauty the queen manifested.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Alice separated with Vivaldi as Alice went to the faculty room to greet the teacher. Alice knocked on the door once and entered the room. She found her homeroom teacher and greeted her with a smile, "Good morning Sr. Irene; I am the new student, Alice Liddel."

The Sister looked up at the new girl and smiled warmly, "Good morning Ms. Liddel. You are just in time for us to head to the classroom." As the Sister got up from her chair she led Alice to her classroom. Sr. Irene turned to Alice, "Ms. Liddel this is only your first day of school, just relax and I pray you will have a nice school life."

"Thank you Sr. Irene."

The Sister, once again, smiled at Alice and entered the classroom, "Good morning girls. Today we have a new student…"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The classes went fairly well, Alice followed Sr. Irene's advice and spent the day in a fairly relaxed mood. As a result, Alice made few friends, Rosette and Catherine. They were a little on a prattle side, but not as blather mouth as Peter White. It was almost the end of the day and Alice stood up from her desk to head back to the dorm until Rosette called her. "Hey Alice, where are you going?"

"I'm heading home, why?"

"Oh yeah! You are new, Alice, you should stay after school and go to the chapel with us."

"Why to the chapel? Is there a tradition to pray after school or something?"

"The sisters all go to their own monastery right after school and pray, but never mind about that, every student goes to the chapel to participate in the game."

"Game?"

"Yup, it's a traditional game held twice a week after school. All the students in the Marchen Girl's and Boy's Academy participate in the event."

"Marchen Boy's Academy? There is a boy's school around here?"

"Yeah and oh my god the boys in that school are totally hot!" Catherine coughed for a bit and Rosette resumed to explaining about the game, "Well anyways, I'm not too sure about what the game is about either because I never participated, but it's said that we can only participate if we either receive the red rose or the white rose."

"Why red or white?"

"Red are for normal participants, everyone has the chance to become the red rose and white is… for special participants…only a handful of people are the white roses and they have special rights, but they also have to attend to the game every time their turn arrives."

"Wha-"

Catherine cut off Alice's next question as she dragged the two towards the ostentatious looking chapel, "Ok ok enough lessons for Alice today, we should hurry and go or else we will miss the game!"

The three girls ran to the chapel as they sat in the last row of the benches and heard one of the student announce in front of the alter, "Ladies, it is truly blissful that I get to see you this afternoon. " Through the crowd of student's head blocking Alice's vision, Alice finally had a chance to look at the announcer and widened her eyes, "Vivaldi?"

"Of course, who is as perfect as our queen? Oh I admire Queen Vivaldi, no wonder she is one of the white roses." Alice attempted to talk to Rosette, but was intervened by the irritated glares from the front row.

Alice decided to turn back to listening to Vivaldi's speech, "For the sake of obtaining your desire and freedom, which we all long for, let the game begin." With whispers and murmurs from across the chapel, roses appeared from the ceiling and landed on several students' hands. The students who received the red roses rejoiced and hugged their friends sitting nearby; unfortunately, Alice couldn't see any white roses received. _Of course, I did hear that white roses were for only a handful of people. It must be a truly rare occasion for anybody to be nominated as the white rose._ Alice attempted to stand up from the bench to go back to the dorm, until she realized that she had a white rose resting on her lap, "…huh?"

One of the girls noticed the white rose and yelled out to everyone, "Hey look over there! That girl received the white rose!"

The girls gasped and stared at the equally surprised new student. Alice heard several murmurs from her surroundings, "Isn't that the new girl? Why does she have a white rose? This must be a mistake!"

Alice sensed confusion and jealousy from all around her and felt herself growing miserable until Vivaldi stepped out from the crowd, "Alice?"

"Vivaldi…um what is going on? I'm like freaking out over here."

"You are a mysterious girl, Alice. Come with me and let us go to the grotto." Alice followed Vivaldi along with several other girls holding their red roses. The grotto located in back of the grandeur chapel was more natural looking than human-made. Vivaldi halted as they reached inside the cave, "We are here. Everyone put your rose in your front chest pocket." The girls followed Vivaldi's instruction as Vivaldi also brought out her white rose.

"Vivaldi, that white rose…"

"This is my rose; each rose are special and holds different powers to accustom to their owners. Thus, these roses are special and can neither wilt nor rot. Now let us kneel to the ground and pray."

Alice just thought about the statement Vivaldi mentioned as she kneeled to the ground. Alice slowly closed her eyes and meditated for a moment as she suddenly felt herself falling. The falling sensation was not new to Alice, but still felt unpleasant as the girl kept her eyes shut until she felt herself land to surface. The next thing Alice noticed was that she was in a rose garden maze, "…What the hell?" _I swear I was in the grotto just now…_

Alice looked around her surroundings for any signs of where she might be. Alice was standing at one of the bigger openings of the red rose maze, and very oddly, they sent ominous feelings through the air. Alice soon noticed Vivaldi and other girls sitting on a nearby bench as she also noticed some young men with uniforms. _I guess that is the participants from the Marchen Boy's Academy._ Alice approached to Vivaldi and asked, "What is this place?"

Vivaldi smiled at Alice, "This is the game board. We are in a dream, Alice."

**I kinda notice that the story is going really different from the original…. Well I guess that's good then! Hurray for originality and wait for the next update in next week!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Another game starts! **

"Dream?"

"Yes, this is a dream, Alice. Your body is probably sleeping in the grotto right now."

"Then the me right now is…"

"Just the same as everybody over here, you are only in your spiritual form." Alice collapsed to the ground and just gazed at Vivaldi. _I thought that I had enough of games, but maybe my life is just cursed or something… _

Vivaldi worriedly looked at Alice, "Alice, are you ok?"

"Y-yeah I'm fine."

"What happened to this young lady over here?"

"None of your business Brad." Vivaldi shot a cold eye toward the person approaching as Alice looked up to see the person.

Alice widened her eyes, "Blood? No…Alex?" It was true that it was Alex, but something was different about him. He wore a funny looking hat and had an air of laziness around him, just like the Mad Hatter, Blood Dupre.

Alex smiled at Alice just like how Blood would smile at her, "You are only half right. I was Alex Johnson, but now I am Brad Dupre."

_Ok, this is really messing up my mind now. Now I have this Blood look-a-like that is actually called Brad. _"What is happening here?"

"To put into details, Alex Johnson committed suicide right after your sister, Lorina, died. I was merely just a replacement to act as your tutor and lead you to this school."

"Huh?"

Vivaldi ignored Brad as she stated, "Alice, we are beginning the game."

Alice turned to where everyone was looking and realized someone familiar, "Nightmare!"

The incubus turned to Alice and smiled, "Hi Alice!"

"What are you doing here?" _Are you even the same sickly incubus back in Wonderland?_

"Yes and no. I will explain the details some time later. As for the first question, I am the great mighty incubus; I have to judge the game. Now everyone get ready for the game." Alice soon realized everyone getting out there roses and turned into a gun.

"…What the hell?"

Nightmare slight bowed to the audience and smiled mysteriously, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the game. Your objective of the game today is to find a key in this rose garden maze. Please enjoy the brilliant show and I hope that you will be safe 'till the very end." With this speech, the incubus faded away and what was left was just an empty air.

"Alice, hurry up and turn yours into a gun too."

"I can't do something like that! I'm not Harry Potter or something!"

"If you just think of protecting yourself, then the rose will respond to you." Alice listened to Vivaldi's advice as she thought of protecting herself. A few minutes have past, but nothing happened to the confused girl.

"Hell, what's wrong with me!"

"Hey, look behind you!" Alice looked behind, and saw a black shadow looming towards her. _The afterimage?_ Unfortunately, Alice was too shocked to see the afterimages and was not fast enough to react to the looming danger. Just inches away from the black shadows, when a person from behind attacked the afterimages and saved Alice.

After the guy ensured that the afterimage was not moving anymore, he turned to look at Alice and yelled, "Are you suicidal or something? How can you just stand there?"

"It can't be helped because I can't get the gun out! Wait…you are…" _Rabbit ears? Then that means…_

"I am Elliot March, Brad's classmate. Now is not the time to talk, run!" Elliot grabbed Alice's hand as they ran through the endless maze. Alice was forced to be separated with Vivaldi and was just dragged around by Elliot. Every time the afterimages attempted to attack the two, Elliot shot them down.

"…What was that?" Alice saw afterimages attacking and swallowing one of her classmates. She shivered at the thought of being swallowed by the pitch black as she turned away from the victims.

"It's the antagonizers. They attack the players to prevent them from winning."

"Elliot, over here!" From behind one of the bushes, Brad called out to his classmate. Elliot and Alice rushed over to Brad's side as they looked out at their surroundings.

Brad took out his machine gun and shot an approaching antagonizer, "So did you locate where the key might be?"

"Yes sir. It is down east by the fifth corner. And also, as you have ordered, I brought back the girl."

"Very good."

Alice just looked at the two men, "Are you two really classmates? 'Cause that is more like master and servant." _Or maybe a mafia boss and his number two._

The two guys looked at each other and Elliot smiled, "I am Brad's classmate and a servant because I admire him."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Well that explains a lot."

"We don't have much time to talk. Let's get moving,"

Elliot stood up from his crouching position and reloaded his gun, "Brad, I will go then,"

"Alright."

"Where are you going, Elliot?"

"I have another matter to take care of, so I will catch up to you guys later. See ya!" He bid farewell to his master as the bunny eared man jogged to a different direction.

"We should also hurry up, young lady."

"Alright." Alice and Brad left their place and started running towards the key location. As they were near to their destination, more of the black shadows started to appear and attempted to attack the two. Alice watched Brad shoot another antagonizer until she saw one of the antagonizers appearing from behind and made an attempt to attack Brad.

"Brad, behind you!" Alice jumped to Brad's side and positioned herself to shield against the antagonizer, but instead of attacking the girl, the shadow suddenly stopped. The antagonizer just stood there for a second and slowly raised its arm and gently caressed Alice's cheek. Confusedly, Alice looked up at the antagonizer. Although the black shadow was terrifying, she oddly didn't feel any life threatened.

"…Who are you?" As soon as Alice asked this, the antagonizer was shot down by Brad.

Brad looked at the fallen antagonizer as he gently stated, "…Next time you don't need to do that, Alice."

"Brad…that antagonizer just now…" Alice stared at the fading shadow as Brad marched to the key that was in a glass case.

"I know. It seems that you are someone special in the game."

"What do you mean?" Alice finally looked at Brad and followed him.

"I'm not too sure of the details, but it might be related to Nightmare Godschalk wanting you to attend this school."

"Nightmare did?"

"Yes, are you acquainted with Nightmare Godschalk?"

"…I don't know."

After a slight glance at Alice, Brad turned away and grabbed the glass case, "I see, well we got the key anyways. Let us go back to reality."

"Wait! What about Elliot?"

"There are other keys in other areas. If he is skilled then he will have no problem getting out of this realm."

After a few moment of silence, Brad smiled at Alice, "I have many things to talk about with you, but, as you can see, this is not really the ideal place to have a conversation. Meet me at the grotto tomorrow after school." With this, Brad took the key out of the glass case and kissed Alice's cheek. The next thing Alice knew was that she was back at the grotto.

**Hope you understood the whole new game! It's a little confusing and messed up sorry~. And I know that antagonizer is not a word, but perhaps good for a name?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Having good time with my fall break. ^^ Although it's only 4 days including the weekend. D:**

Alice opened her eyes and groggily stood up. She noticed that she was still in the grotto and her classmates were still asleep. _I guess I'm the only one up… _Alice debated on whether she should leave them alone here or get some help to carry them to the infirmary until she spotted a girl that was familiar to her. _Wait this girl, I saw her when she was attacked by the antagonizers. Doesn't that mean she won't wake up anymore? _Fearing that her classmates are never going to wake up, the worried brunette nudged her classmate, "Hey! Wake up! You cannot die here!"

"Hm… Alice?" Vivaldi woke up from Alice's voice and stood up.

"Vivaldi? Oh good you woke up," Alice turned around and hugged Vivaldi.

After a few minutes Alice released Vivaldi. The elegant senior dusted off her uniform and smiled at Alice, "I'm relieved, I was worried sick about you when you got separated with me. But may I ask you, what you are doing?"

Alice looked at one of the girls laying on the ground, "This girl… I remember her being swallowed by one of the antagonizers and so I thought that she will never wake up."

"Oh, about that you don't have to worry about it."

"What?"

"Uh…" The girl that Alice was just referring to woke up in a daze and confusedly looked at Alice and Vivaldi, "Where am I?"

"You are in the grotto. We have been praying in the grotto, but we somehow ran into an accident. We apparently encountered the Somnus Arboris, the sleep plant, and we all fell asleep. We just woke up and we were discussing to whether wake you up or not."

The girl swiftly stood up from the ground and straightened herself to look more presentable, "I'm terribly sorry!"

"It is alright. It was my fault that I didn't know there was a sort of plant in the grotto. Please take care when you go back to your dorm," Vivaldi watched as the flustered girl went off to the dorm and turn to Alice as other girls started to wake up, "This game is just a dream after all. You will not die by it, but the losers will lose their roses, memory about the game, and something of their possession."

"Lose something?"

"Yes, such as luck, pride, bravery, and all sorts of qualities that may or may not be valuable to you."

"I see."

After a few seconds, Vivaldi smiled gracefully, "Aside from that, did Brad do something rude to you?"

"No, they didn't. Well they have some few things that I want to point out, but nonetheless they helped me out. I am grateful that I am even alive," Alice smiled slightly at the odd reunion with the Hatter family. _I wanted to meet those two twins too…_

"Are you sure? Because if they ever lay a hand on you, I will strangle them to death in the next game," Vivaldi was still smiling, but Alice could feel the weird tension that was building up behind those smiles.

" That… sounds very reassuring, thank you," Alice nervously smiled at Vivaldi.

Vivaldi still kept on her smile as she nodded at the remaining girls, "Your welcome."

Alice watched Vivaldi wave at the other players as they all went off to their dorm, "Say… Alex and Brad are pretty identical aren't they?" _Are they both your brothers?_ It wasn't Alice's usual way to be curious about other people's business, but it was already obvious that Alice was somehow involved with this mess. After all she promised Brad to meet with him tomorrow. The close resemblance to her tutor and Brad was not just a coincidence.

Now Vivaldi turned to Alice and smiled bitterly, "Are they? I think they are the total opposites."

"Really?"

Vivaldi muttered in a low voice, "…Plus, I absolutely despise that man, to the extent of not wanting him as my brother." This surprised Alice. Of course it wasn't rare for siblings to have meddling quarrels, but Vivaldi clearly showed signs of abhorrence towards her brother.

"Are you talking about Alex?" _or Brad?_

"Never mind. It is nothing Alice. Say it is already dark outside. Let's us go back to the dorm."

"A-alright." _I have to mentally check about the relationship between Vivaldi and Brad. I wonder what is behind with all this hatred._

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Nightmare leisurely glided in the dream realm. He glanced at the foul mood man next to him and smiled sardonically, "What happened, Julius? You're not very cheerful today or maybe should I say not very happy every day."

Without giving a glance to the sickly incubus, the morbid man worked his way to tend to the clocks, "Get out of my way, demon."

"I am an incubus, plus this is my realm so it cannot be helped."

"Demon or incubus I do not care, but this is my dream after all, so don't barge into people's mind."

Nightmare glided around Julius, purposefully distracting him from doing his work, "Well sooner or later I have to come back again to collect all the memories and the traits you have obtained from the players today. Why not just spend my time here than go back to the dreary reality?"

"Urg!" Nightmare suddenly staggered away from Julius while he held his hand to his mouth.

Julius smiled evilly, "Ah yes it is more like a wonderful thing for me if you just shut up and go back to your teacher's side. He must be very worried about you."

"Don't try to talk as if the reality is wonderful while you show me that horrible image!"

"Hmph, I am just implying for you to go back, it is the duty of the doctor to worry about people's well being," with a snort, Julius resumed on working with the clocks.

To get attention, Nightmare went in front of Julius and yelled, "Forget about you being a doctor. How could you do this to me?"

Julius just sighed and irritatingly looked at Nightmare, "Go check on Peter White if you have the time to bother me."

Nightmare turned away from Julius and started drifting away from him, "I will gladly do that. Plus, it seems like the work will not finish anytime soon."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Since Alice participated in the game, she has not had any sleep and was mentally and physically exhausted. She spent the whole night thinking about the game and tried to shun the rumors and gazes from students. Alice just concentrated on the studies and avoided talking to Rosette and Catherine, she did not have the effort to go and explain everything to them. Vivaldi worriedly visited Alice and offered a couple of times to go to the infirmary, but Alice refused to do so. It is a waste of money and time to ditch class when you have the opportunity to learn. After all it was the sole purpose in entering this school. After school, remembering her meeting with Brad, Alice wobbled her way to the grotto. There she sat on the ground and gazed the hollow pathway of the cave. Alice felt her eyes drooping and was nearly impossible to stay awake. She finally decided to take a rest and slept until her company arrived.

**Seems like there are many secrets in the real world too. See you next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! Happy Thanksgiving! I'm so happy that I have so many holidays, so many day offs (lalala~) xD**

From the scent of roses to the playful twirling of the wind, Alice slowly opened her eyes. _This is not the grotto…where am I?_ Alice was in the elaborately furnished gazebo made out of translucent white marble surrounded by beautiful red roses, she was sitting on top of mountains of silky gossamer cushions, covered with scents of roses everywhere.

"Oneesan woke up!"

"Yeah she did. Oneesan!"

Alice turned to face towards the familiar voices and exclaimed with joy, "Dee and Dum!"

The two looked the same as ever only with the exception of their Marchen Boy's Academy's attire. Their uniforms were white coat with intricate black lining with black shirts underneath. Each of them was wearing a red and blue tie, "Oneesan looks even cuter upclose."

"She sure does. It was a good thing that we skipped school to check her out."

The confused girl stood up and looked at her surroundings, "Um, do you boys know where we are?"

"Yeah! Cartwright told us to lead oneesan from the grotto to our school, but oneesan was sleeping so we just carried oneesan to this place," the boys nodded to each other as they playfully smiled.

"…Wait so you mean that I'm at Marchen Boy's Academy?" _The academy must have been nearer then I thought…_

"Yup I'm so happy to meet you oneesan," the adorable twins went closer to their beloved older girl as they looked into her eyes with a sparkle.

"Ehehe, your lazuli eyes are so beautiful…I wonder how it would look like if we put it under the sun…"

"No, I wonder how much it would cost if we sold it," the two heinous boys looked at the frightened girl.

Alice cringed at the frighteningly innocent yet cruel eyes, "Uh, sorry but I feel like meeting Brad soon so let's play another time ok?" _More like I will get killed by these boys if I stay any longer…_

"Oh, it's alright oneesan. Since Cartwright is in class right now, we can play."

"So what should we play with oneesan? You can choose anyone you like," from his huge green backpack, Dum took out cards, roulette, dice, darts, mahjong, and other gambling items. Alice blinked her eyes, it was totally not what she was expecting, "…this."

Just as if it was an obvious thing to say, Dum answered, "Of course it's gambling! Oneesan did you bring your money?"

"Ah well…" _Even though it's far better than getting out weapon, it is still an illegal act. _Though this was what she thought, she never dare said anything.

"Oh hey I smell something good~" From one of the entranceway to the gazebo, the pink haired man popped out his head in curiosity.

"Boris!" The twins exclaimed in disgust.

"What are you doing in our territory."

Boris had his usual punk fashion, but lacked his cat ears and tails. He snooped up to Alice and gave a childish grin, "You mean Cartwright's territory right? Well I have nothing to do with the likes of you, nobles and their servants, since I'm just a normal healthy delinquent, but I love to know who you are playing with."

"No way," Dee hugged Alice as Dum proceeded to talking.

"Get away. Wildcats should just sleep under the tree like always."

"Aww, don't reject me like that, I'm your friend by the way. I'm really hurt! Anyways if you don't want to share, I will just take her myself," _He just said something really absurd like what Ace would say._

"Try if you can!" The twins adjusted their stance as they prepared for a fight. Boris just stood with a serious look. He took one step forward and grabbed roundish ball from his jacket.

"Like hell I would want to start a fist fight with underage kids! Have some fun with that pepper scented perfume!"

"Hey come back habshu!"

"We will never forget this ikshu!" The twins were too preoccupied by the constant sneeze attack that they loosened their hold of Alice. Not missing this chance, Boris grabbed the confused girl's wrist as they ran through the rose garden.

After a few minutes of running, they finally slowed down to a stop, "Whew~ we finally got out of that overly rose scented area. My senses of smell were just dying of over killing lethal smells. You were lucky to escape from them. They are the masters of gambling in this school. They coax people to gamble and take away all their belongings."

"Boris…" Alice finally had the chance of having a good look at her familiar pink friend. It was not her intention of being emotional over her semi encounter with her friend she once abandoned.

"Huh?" Surprised by the girl's reaction, for a few seconds, Boris just worriedly look at the girl. After waiting and finding that silence wouldn't change anything, he changed his tactic by showing his casual smile.

"Well, I don't really know if I mentioned my name to you, but I'm Boris Airay. Nice to meet you. "

The girl wiped her tears as she smiled at her friend, "Nice to meet you. I'm Alice Liddel."

"Don't worry, we escaped those twerps' evil playground so we are fine."

"Yeah…" It was still hard to meet with everyone from wonderland. Even though they were not the ones Alice hanged out with, she was still happy to see them once again. One definite person she was happy to see was Boris.

"I carry no knives but I can make you bleed. I have no mouth but I can feed; some maniacs are utterly in love with me, and when you go up high you can see me. What am I?"

The sudden change of subject startled Alice, "Huh, what is it?"

Boris exclaimed in joy as he brought out a red rose, "It's rose!"

Alice opened her mouth in awe, "That's it?"

"Yup, that's it."

A few seconds of silence passed by until she finally burst out in laughter, "You're just the same!"

Although the boy with pink hair was confused, he still wore his sheepish smile, "Huh what do you mean?"

"Oh nothing really," Alice could reminisce the time in Wonderland when Boris used the same tactic to make her laugh. It was both sentimental and hilarious.

Boris just scratched his head and let the subject drop, "You know… you seem familiar, like I've met you before…"

"Really?" Alice teasingly leaned over to Boris.

Boris took a few strand of Alice's hair as he sniffed it, "Yeah, you just have a familiar scent."

The unexpected gesture made Alice blush as she mumbled, "What's that, you say something like a cat or dog would say."

"I hate dogs, but cats are nice. I've always wanted to be a certain type of cat."

"What kind?"

"A Cheshire cat. I know they don't really exist, but they are cool you know. They can appear and disappear at anytime, to me they are the symbol of freedom. Huh? Alice?"

The mention of the Chesire cat utterly surprised Alice, "Ah, no nothing I think they are really cool too. I was once friends with a cat too."

"Really so you had him as a pet?"

Alice just looked up into the sky as she continued talking, "No, he was just my friend. We talked and went to many different places and had some fun. He always cheered me up…"

Even though Alice never said anything, for some reason, Boris knew that the cat Alice was talking about was not beside her anymore, "Well then I can be that cat's replacement. I can be your Chesire cat."

"What?"

Boris just grinned to Alice, "Hey I can show you my secret spot. Let's go!"

Boris grabbed Alice's wrist as he led her blindly through the magnificent school corridor, but the boy soon halted and sniffed the air, "…What are you doing, Boris?"

"I can smell something… and this sound…" Boris suddenly turned his head towards the nearby bush and spotted Pierce.

"I had a good nap~" Pierce yawned in satisfaction as he sat up. He wore the white school uniform with a green tie. Everything was just the same except for his lack of mouse ears.

"Looks like my senses were right! Hey Pierce!" It was a rather peculiar sight in a perspective of an ordinary person, but somehow this made sense to Alice.

"Gya! Cat boy!" Pierce jolted in fear and swiftly ran away from Boris.

"Hey, why are you running away? Come back here I want to introduce you to Alice!"

"And you say that excuse to lure me and bully me again~! No way!"

"Arg! Just come here already!" Boris chased Pierce as Alice was left alone at the corridor.

"What was that just now…" _He just left me here! _Alice just stood there in awe and confusion.

"Whoa!" A sudden impact pushed Alice down to the ground. She looked up and was nearly horrified at the person she encountered.

"Huh, did I hit somebody?" Even with the regulation of school code, his school coat was red instead of white. His undying fake smile looked down upon the contrastingly frowning girl.

Alice stood up and dusted her dress as she answered gloomily, "You sure did."

"Oh hey, what a rare thing to see in this school." _I'm not really a thing…_

"And I can see that you are lost?"

The boy curiously stared at the strange girl, "How do you know?"

Alice just scoffed at the obvious, "Usually, just by looking I can tell." _I mean how long was I with him? If he is the same as the one in wonderland then I'm 100 percent sure he is lost._

The boy just laughed off, "Ahaha so I see. Well I'm guessing that you are lost too so why don't we walk together?"

"Alright, but I lead you stay back."

With a little wink he offered his hand for a handshake, "That's fine, I'm Ace Knight."

Alice responded to the offer, "Alice Liddel"

After a while, Alice felt Ace staring at her, "What"

"You know, you seem to be familiar. Have I ever met you before?"

Alice sarcastically replied, "That is a nice pick up line."

Ace thoughtfully replied back, "It wasn't really meant for a pick up line, but that would do too."

As they were walking down the hallway, the two heard a voice from behind, "Ace Knight!"

Ace turned to look at the person and smiled, "Gray."

Gray sighed as he approached to the two, "Call me Mr. Ringmarc. Show more respect to your teachers. Are you ditching classes again and you even brought a girl into this school? Just how many troubles are you trying to make me worry over?"

"Ahaha true that I ditch class every now and then, but the classes are so boring. But I'm not causing as much trouble as Nightmare. Ah, by the way, I found this girl lost in the hallway so I was giving her directions."

Gray looked at me intently, "Even if you gave directions to her, it is still useless." _I won't trust his words anyways._

"So may I ask who you are young lady?"

Encountering Gray, Alice showed her utmost respect to the teacher, "My name is Alice Liddel and my apologies to intrude into this school, but seems like I was kidnapped to this school." Back in Wonderland, to her, Gray was like her strict, but loving father.

"Do you know who the culprit might be?" Alice suddenly had the image of Brad and the twins, but just stayed silent and shook her head.

"I see. Well then it can't be helped. I will give you an exception. Assuming that you attend to Marchen Girl's Academy, do you know your way back?"

Alice just shook her head, "I am new to this area, will you kindly give me directions?"

"Certainly, I will walk you back," with a genuine smile, Gray looked at Alice.

Concerning how troublesome it would be for the teacher to guide a lost girl back to her school, Alice shook her head, "Thank you for your kindness, but that is not necessary; if you just tell me the directions then I can walk back on my own."

"But it is very dangerous for you alone."

"Teacher I can go."

Gray turned to Ace and sighed, "Even if you go with her, no doubt you will make her lost so don't even think about. You are going to come with me and attend to your class."

"Eh~ That's not fun," Ace pouted sarcastically.

"Tough luck." _No duh_

"I can go," a sudden unexpected voice came up.

"Elliot March, what are you doing at this time?"

Elliot patted Gray's shoulder as he smiled in glee, "I was excused from class for delivery to another class, but I have accomplished my mission so I am available now."

"Hm, well then I will give an exception this time. You wouldn't mind if you guide Ms. Liddel to her school?"

"Of course. Leave it to me Gray," Elliot smiled and gave a thumbs up.

Gray just gave a sort of awkwardness in his expression as he muttered, "Why is everybody calling me by my first name?"

"Now that Alice found her guide, I will be leaving. Bye!" Ace smiled as he turned to go the other way, but was soon held by his collar from Gray.

"You come with me and no running away. Your absence are skyrocketing you need an extra tutoring session."

"Ahaha can't be helped that I'm super popular. Bye Alice~" Ace waved at Alice as he was dragged along by Gray.

As Alice watched the two pass by, Elliot mumbled quietly, "…sure is tiring around him. I pity him."

"Elliot?" Elliot was also in his uniform with an orange tie. Compared to the other time in the dream, he lacked his rabbit ears. This made Alice feel a little sad.

Elliot turned to Alice and cheerfully smiled, "Alice! Let's go now Brad is waiting for you."

"Ok?"

**It was long. Making up for my long time rest. And yes I know, it is heartbreaking, the people (Boris, Elliot, and etc.) don't have their cute animal ears and tails! Tears tears I think I will add them back in the future.**


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is a lot like a mystery novel than fantasy romance; well you'll get it when you read…**

Alice was back at the rose garden. Elliot leading her, she came back to the marble gazebo. There she saw a table set with fragile antique tea set laid upon the lavishly laced table cloth. The master of the tea party stood up from his seat and approach towards the invited guest to greet her, "Hello young lady, it seems like you had quite an adventure."

Alice sighed at the reminder of the previous events, "I did and I saw a lot of faces including the ones I didn't want to see."

Without giving much interest to the subject, Brad lifted a rose petal from the girl's hair, "Hm, so you know some people from this school?"

A light blush formed as the visitor awkwardly replied, "Sort of."

As Brad was about to say something, Elliot jumped in between and pushed Alice to take a seat, "Well just don't stand there you two and let's eat!" He snapped his finger as mountains of carrot foods lined on the table, "What do you want: Carrot pie, carrot flan, or carrot cake? Or if you want other stuff like carrot roll cake then you can always order from this maid."

Not surprised by the mountains of carrot dishes, Alice changed the subject, "You guys have a maid?"

Without minding about the sudden change of topic, Elliot answered as Alice noticed Brad looking at her in a grateful way, "Yep, haven't you heard of the Cartwright family? They are one of the prestigious noble families and Brad is the head of that family." _So I guess they are not mafia after all._

"I see, so let's get to the topic then… Are you related to my tutor and Vivaldi?" As soon as Alice said this, the air turned cold and everyone's expression except for Brad were serious. Alice felt a chill as she nervously turned to Brad.

After taking a quick sip of his tea, Brad answered as if he didn't really mind talking, "Yes, there were some circumstances which we, siblings, were separated. Nevertheless, Alex and I have kept contact with each other. Our relationship was known only by my most trusted subordinates. But that Sunday afternoon, Alex came to my house with a gun in his hand. He told me that his lover, your sister, died and he has no meaning to live anymore. With that he just took the gun and shot himself."

Alice was utterly speechless as Brad continued, "There is more to the incident. Soon after the death of my brother, a letter arrived from Nightmare Godschalk. He ordered me to become Alex Johnson and lead you to this school in return for nominating me as a white rose."

"Nightmare?" It was one surprise after another for the girl.

"Yes, even though he is a student, he is also the board of director of this school and also the judge of the game. There are some rumor that he is an incubus, devil, etc. Anyway he is dangerous and full of mystery." _I think you got the incubus and mysterious part right._

After glancing at the carrot cake set on his plate, Brad quickly tossed it to Alice's plate and moved on to drinking his tea, "Well seems like you know Nightmare more than I do."

Alice didn't give a care about what was on the plate instead she just stared at Brad, "What do you mean?"

Brad looked at Alice now and smiled mysteriously, "The other time, I saw you talking with Nightmare. It did not seem like you both met for the first time."

"…Well I don't know if he knows me, but I have my own reasons."

"Hm," Brad let the subject drop as he ordered the maid to bring some cinnamon cookies. "So why did you become a white rose?"

It was a sudden question, "I… I had no choice but just became a white rose. Is it important to have a reason?"

An expression of astonishment crossed Brad's face as he soon composed himself, "It is said that the winner of this game is able to grant any wish and white roses are the most advantageous player into becoming the winner."

"Why is that?"

Brad raised his hand to represent numbers on his fingers, "First of all they can choose their desired weapons. Second they can order their own red rose party to fight for them. Well they have to show a lot of commitments first in order become a white rose player though."

"Own red rose party?" Alice noticed Brad's eyes drooping. _Crap, he's getting bored of explaining._

"There are many types of trials in the game, including the ones that may become battle royals. There is a certain number of red rose players you can call them your, white rose's, servants. You can order them to fight against or spy on the other party."

"Or guard and save their white rose master." Elliot smiled as the twins exclaimed, "Like us!" The both held their own red roses for Alice to see.

Alice smiled at Elliot, she was thankful that Elliot was covering the part of explaining, "So that means I have red rose players that will follow my order?"

Elliot continued as he picked a carrot pudding and gobbled it down, "Should be. They usually show themselves at the first game."

Alice contemplated for a moment and asked, "And what if they didn't?"

All the Cartwright family except for the twins who were playing with their food blinked in surprise as Elliot slowly stated, "…Then you don't have any?"

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Nightmare walked into one of the room which Ace and Gray had their private tutoring lesson. Ace smiled nonchalantly, "Hey Nightmare! What's up?"

Nightmare gave his mysterious smile, "Let's make a deal."

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Alice entered the room. It was another long day. As Alice opened the door, Vivaldi nearly jumped to hug her, "Alice!" Alice blinked in surprise, but soon smiled. It was nice to have a friend who worried about you. Alice could smell the beautiful rose scented perfume from the queen; the scent was different from the gazebo. While the gazebo's roses smelled strong and wild, Vivaldi's perfume was rich and refine. Alice smelled the luscious scent as Vivaldi anxiously looked at her room partner, "I was so worried about you."

Alice huddled closer to Vivaldi, "Sorry I was meeting someone and seems like I slept all the way through."

A relief washed over the worried face, "Good thing. I just told the teacher that you are absent. If you haven't come back today I was going to search for you myself."

Alice smiled and broke off the hug, "Thanks Vivaldi."

For a while Vivaldi just smiled, but suddenly changed her expression to a serious one, "Alice…you smell like roses."

Alice made a gesture to smell herself, "I do?"

Vivaldi continued with a low tone, "You have gone to see that man didn't you?"

Alice hesitated for a while and soon nodded her head as Vivaldi looked at Alice straight in the eye, "I will just warn this to you, that man is no good. He is a dangerous evil man who even kills his own brother and does anything to expand his family's influence."

Confusion and chaos rushed in the girl's head as she asked, "Killed his brother? You mean my tutor?" It was the first time, Alice ever heard of this version.

Vivaldi looked down at the ground sighing, "I didn't mean to tell this to you in this kind of situation, but it cannot be helped. Your tutor, Alex Johnson, was killed by Brad Cartwright."

Alice widened her eyes, "How…can that be?"

Vivaldi reluctantly explained, "He said so himself. After the death of your sister, Alex turned crazy and he threatened to reveal our blood relations to the world. It was painful to watch him suffer, I wanted to help him, but that's not what that man thought. He murdered Alex and hid his body."

"Did you see him kill Alex?"

"Yes, the day when I secretly visited the Cartwright residence I saw Brad holding a gun with Alex lying on the ground."

After looking at Alice's painful expression, Vivaldi gently held Alice's hand, "…Anyways please just stay away from that man, Alice. I don't want you to get hurt because of that cold, ruthless man."

Alice slowly let go of Vivaldi's hand and turned away, "I…cannot do that…" _Sorry Vivaldi, but I need to confirm it on my own._

A pained expression crossed Vivaldi's face as she tightened her fist, "Alice…" The younger girl went to her bed, as she turned her back on her beautiful room partner. For a while, Vivaldi just looked at Alice for a long time and soon went to bed as well. After confirming that Vivaldi was in her bed, Alice opened her eyes and shed tears.

**Credit goes to the awesome proof reader Kokyou Konran! xD**


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